Week 5: Asking for Mercy, Giving Praise After the entrance song, the priest, in persona Christi, greets the assembly with "The Lord be with you." This is not a pleasantry; it is a declaration: Christ is truly present among us. The phrase echoes through Scripture: the angel’s greeting to Mary at the Annunciation, what Boaz says to his harvesters in Ruth, the Risen Christ’s words to the disciples in the upper room, and so on. When the assembly answers, "And with your spirit," w

Renewed at the Table of the Lord: Beginning Our Journey of Liturgical Renewal. Apr 7, 2026 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Let me share something with you that I rarely say aloud: even for me, after years of celebrating Mass, there are days when I arrive at the altar and realize I have let the mystery of God’s love slip past me. The words are familiar. The gestures are routine. And yet, somewhere between arrival and the final blessing, distracted by the issues of life, I